Airplane-bomb.



C. C. BLACKMORE.

AIRPLANE BOMB.

APPLICATION mm JUNE 24. I918.

1,278,578. Y Patented Sept. 10,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOR. 6- C JZiJK/VVJQZ A TTORNEY C. C. BLACKMORE.

AIRPLANE BOMB.

APPLICATION FILED IUNE 24. 1918.

1,278,578. Patented Sept. 10,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ZZ I Z2 Him IN V EN TOR.

A TTORNEYS.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

onantns dpizLAcxmonE, or DAYTON, 01110.

AIRPLANE-BOMB.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES 0. BLACK- MORE, acitizen of the United States, residin at Dayton, in the county ofMontgomery an State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Airplane-Bombs, of

which the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawing. l This invention relates to an airplane bomb;that is, a bomb or projectile adapted to be dropped from an airplane orthe like.

The object of the invention is to provide a bomb of this kind which willscatter explosive missiles, such as hand grenades, over a largeareasurrounding the point at which the bomb strikes; and, further, toaccomplish this without the use of an explosive to eject the missiles.

Itis also an object of the'invention to provide a bomb of this kindwhich will be simple in construction and operation; which can be easilyand safely handled; and which will be positive in its operation.

A further object of the invention is-to provide means to positivelyretain the missiles in position in the bomb during the transportationand handling thereof, and

to release them at the time of, or imme diately following, the dischargeof the bomb.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly brokenaway, of a bomb embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectiontaken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;Fig. 3 is an enlarged section broken away taken on the line 33 of Fig.2;'-Fig. 4 is afront elevation, partly broken away, showing theretaining cover; and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same partly insection.

In these drawings I have illustrated one form of my invention and haveshown the same as embodied in a structure which I have characterized asan airplane bomb, or projectile, because it is adapted to be dropped ordischargedfrom an airplane after the manner of the usual bomb.Ordinarily, however, the bomb will not be of an explosive character,although it will be obvious that, if desired, an explosive charge couldbe added to the bomb itself. As here shown, the bomb comprises asupporting structure, or body portion, hav ng a plurality ofcompartments, each of whlch 1s adapted to contain amissile, such as ahand Specification of Letters .Patent. Patented Sept, 10, 1918,Application filedJune 24., 1918. Serial No, 241,454.

grenade. Suitable ejecting means are provlded which will be operated bythe momentum of the bomb, as it strikes its target,

to discharge the missiles from the respective compartments; and whichwill also render the firing devices operative at the time themissilesare discharged from the compart- 'ments. The construction andarrangement supporting member which is, preferably, in

the form of a hollow rod 10 which notonly forms a guide for theactuating device, as will be hereinafter explained, but which supportsthe several compartments. As here shown, the several compartments areformed by mounting on the centralsupporting rod a series of transversepartitlons 11, each of which forms the bottom of a series ofcompartments. The outer edges of the several partitions are connectedone with the other by vertical standards 12 which constitute braces andimpart rigidity to the structure. The space between the adjacentpartitions is divided by vertically extending radial partitions 13 intoseparate compartments, each of which is of a size and shape toaccommodate the particular missile for which the projectile is designed.The construction here illustrated is intended more particularly for handgrenades, or similar explosive missiles or bombs, and I have shown sucha grenade in conventional form at 14. The number of compartments in eachtier, as well as the number of tiers, will, of course, depend upon thesize of the projectile and the size of the particular missile which isto be used. In the present instance, the structure is of a comparativelysmall diameter and each tier containsiaur compartments which areradially arranged. The-compart'ments' of one tier may be so arrangedrelatively to the compartments of adjacent tiers as to cause themissiles to .be discharged in different directions, as by arranging thepartitions between the compartments of one tier in planes lying betweenthe partitions of the the missiles from the respective compartments and,preferably, a separate ejecting device is provided for each compartmentand the several ejecting devices are operated by a common actuatingdevice, so that the several missiles will be discharged simulta-- o)erative relation with the o cratin device l b 7 to which movement willbe imparted by the impact of the projectile with its target,

" which, ordinarily, would be the surface of the ground, or some objectimmediately adjacent thereto. The other arm of the lever is so arrangedwith relation to the missile that the movement imparted to thelever bythe actuatin device will cause the missile to be ejected from itscompartment. Not only is such an ejecting device simple in constructionand positive in its operation, but the missiles of differentcompartments, or different tiers, can be caused to be thrown differentdistances by so arranging the lever withrelation to its fulcrum as toincrease or decrease the operative length thereof, with a correspondingincrease or decrease of power as applied to the missile. The ejectingdevice here shown is in the form of a double-armed lever 15 which issubstantially V-shaped in construction and is pivoted at a point nearits apex on the partition 11 forming the bottom of the compartment. Forthe sake of compactness, the partition or bottom wall of the compartmentis slotted and the ejecting lever is arranged partly within the slot.The one arm of the lever, 16, extends through a vertical slot 17 in thehollow central rod 10 and into a position to be engaged by a shoulderformed on an actuating device or vertically movable rod 18, which isslidably mounted in the hollow supporting rod 10. The shoulder, or stop,with which the lever cooperates may be formed in any suitable manner,and, in the present construction, it is formed by providin a rod 18 in acircumferential groove, t us providing a single shoulder which willactuate the ejecting levers of the four compartments of the adjacenttier, and which will be in operative engagement with the several missilerests, but this is an optional construclevers regardless of any rotatorymovement which may be imparted thereto. The other arm 19 of the ejectinglever is arranged to engage the missile and forcibly eject the same fromits compartment'when' the lever is operated by the actuating device. Inthe present construction I have shaped the arm 19 of the lever to form aseat upon which the device is provided with means for withdrawing thefiring pins, and thus rendering the firing devices operative, as thegrenade I is ejected from its compartment. In the present instance theend of the firing pin is engaged with the end of the arm 19 of theejecting lever when the grenade is placed in position in itscompartment, and when the grenade is ejected the pin remains fastened tothe arm of the lever and is thus withdrawn asthe grenade isejected, thearrangement of the arm with relation to the pin be ing'such that at theend of the movement of the lever'the pin will project in substantiallythe line of movement of the grenade.

The actuating device 18 extends beyond the lower end of the hollowsupporting rod 10 and is ca )able of vertical movement relatively to'the hollow rod. Consequently,

when the bomb is dropped'point downward,

the end of the actuating rod- 18 will engage the target and its movementwill be checked before the movement of the body portion of the structureis checked.- The sudden stopping of the actuating rod acts upon theejecting levers in the manner of a violent blow and rocks the same abouttheir axes with great force and rapidity, thus imparting to the grenadesan ejecting force sufficient to project them for a considerabledistance. As has been above stated, the amount of force applied to thegrenade and, consequently, the distance which it is projected,

may be varied by a proper adjustment of the lever with relation to itsfulcrum. In the present instance, this has been accomplished byshortening the arm 19 of the lever where .a short throw is desired. Itwill be apparent that if the lovers near the lower end of the structureare adjusted to throw the missiles a short distance, and the levers ofthe succeeding compartments, above the firstmentioned compartments, areadjusted to .throw the missiles increasing distances, that the missilescanbe scattered over a large area surrounding the point where the bombstrikes. The space between the bottom wall of the lower compartment andthe lower end of the hollow supporting rod, which projects some distancebelow said bottom wall, is inclosed by a conical cover which gives tothe lower end of the bomb a pointed shape, as

shown at .21, and the upper end of the bomb is provided with the usualfins 22=to cause it to assume a; .vertical position during itscompartments without the use of a positively actuated ejecting device,and it may sometimes be desirable to eject a part, or all, of the.missiles in this way. In the present Construction I have shown the twolowermost tiers of compartments as having their bottom walls or floorssloped downwardly and outwardly in such a manner that when the body ofthe structure is brought to a sudden stop the missiles will continue tomove and willbe thus" ejected from their" compartments and will berojected a distance from the structure, epending upon the angle ofinclination imparted to the bottom wall of the compartment. As hereshown, the bottom wall of the lower tier of compartments is inclined ata sharper angle than is the bottom wall of the succeeding compartment.Thus, the missiles from the lower compartments will be projected a' lessdistance than will the missiles from the second compartment. The firingpins may be withdrawn from the missiles by merely attaching them to afixed stop in the compartment after the manner in which they areattached to the'levers of the ejecting devices.

I have shown the device in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 as provided with resilientfingers or spring .rough handlin clips '23 fixed to the. side walls ofthe respective compartments and embracing the missiles to retain thesame therein. The

strength of these fingers is sufficient to pre vent the displacement ofthe missiles by gravity or slight jars which may be imparted thereto inhandling. However, to

make the device absolutely safe to handle, it is desirable that somemeans be provided to positively prevent the displacement of themissiles, and the consequent withdrawing of the firing pins, duringtransportation or This I prefer to accomplish by provi ing an inclosingenvelop for the structure as a whole which will close the outer ends ofthe compartments and thus effectually retain the missiles therein. Itis,

of course, necessary that this inclosing en-' the projectile and itsedges attached one to the other to retain it in cylindrical form, and toprovide means for automatically disconnecting the edges of the sheet topermit the same to spring apart and thus separate the closure from theprojectile. This may be accomplished in various ways. As shown in Figs.4 and 5, I have overlapped the edges of the sheet and have connected thesame at the upper end of the envelop by means of a in 26 which isscrew-threaded into a soc (et 27, preferably formed in a plate whichissecured to one edge of the sheet by means of rivets or the like, and hasan unthrea'ded lower end which projects into a socket 28, secured in asimilar manner, to the other edge of the sheet, the latter edge of thesheet being notched to permit the socket 27 to extend into alinementwith the socket 281 Attached to the upper end of the screwthreaded pinor bolt 26 is a fan or small propeller 29 which will be rotated as theproject ile'moves downwardly through'the air, thus unscrewing the pinand withdrawing the lower end thereoffrom the socket 28. The

overlapped edges of the sheet may be connected at the lower end thereofin the same or any suitable manner, but I prefer simply to notch theedges of the sheet, as shown at 30, to receive a lug 31 secured to the-bod of the pro ectile near the bottom thereof. IV en the edges of thesheet have been overlapped,

the notches will be brought into alinement and the lug will bebroughtinto engagement therewith as the cover isfitted into position on thebomb. When the'edges of the sheet are released at the upper end of theenvelop by the withdrawal ofthe pin 26 they will spring apart, dueto theresiliencyof the metal, and this will cause the notches 30 at the lowerend to be disengaged from the lug, 1

engagement with the edge of the sheet, it will not interfere with theseparation of the edges thereof and the removal of the envelop from thestructure. I prefer to mount the fan 29 on one edge of the sheet fromwhich the envelop is formed so that it will be 'separ ted from thestructure along w th the enve iop and will in no way interfere with theflight of the structure. s

The operation of the device Wlll be readily understood from theforegoing description and it will be apparent that a bomb of 'tlllS kinddropped from an airplane'or the hke will strike the ground with greatforce, thus operating the projecting devlces and causing the missiles tobe scattered over a relatively large area surrounding the projectile.And, inasmuch as the ban over a considerable :area, it w ll be apparentthat the explosion of the missiles Wlll effectively cover this entirearea.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, I wishit to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the detailsthereof, various modifications will occur to a person skilled in theart. Having now fully described my inventlon,

what I claim is new and desire to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an airplane bomb, the combination with a structure adapted tocarry a plurality of missiles, of mechanism actuated by the saidmissiles from said structureand render said firing devices operative.

4. In an airplane bomb, the combination with a structure adapted tocarry a plurality of explosive missiles'having normally inoperatlvefirmg devices, of a mechanically operated ejecting device actuated bythe momentum of said bomb to eject the missiles therefrom and to rendersaid firing devices operative.

5. In an airplane bomb, the combination with a structure adapted tocarry a plurality of grenades, each having a firing pin, of amechanically operated ejecting device operated by the impact of saidbomb with its target to eject the missile from said structure, and aconnection between said ejecting device and said firing pin to cause thelatter to be withdrawn as the missile is ejected.

6. In an airplane bomb, the combination with a structure adapted tocarry a plurality 1 of missiles, of a mechanically operated ejectingdevice for each of said missiles and an actuating device connected withsaid ejecting devlces and arranged to be operated by the impact ofsaidbomb with its target. In an airplane bomb, the combination with astructure adapted to carry a plurality ofmissiles, of mechanicallyoperated ejecting devices for said missiles and an actuating rod adaptedto be operated by the imact of said bomb with the target, said rod ingoperatively connected with said ejecting devices. I

8. In an airplane bomb, the combination I with a structure adapted tosupport a plurality of missiles in superimposed tiers, an actuating rodextending lengthwise of said structure and adapted to be operated byimpact, and mechanism actuated by said rod for ejecting said missilesfrom said structure 9'. In an airplane bomb, the combination forejecting said missiles from said structure,

said ejecting means being so arranged that the missiles of some tierswill be thrown greater distances than the mlssiles of othertiers.

10. In an airplane bomb, the combination with a structure adapted tocarry a plurality of missiles in superimposed tiers, a pivoted ejectingdevice for each of said mis: siles, and an actuating rod operatively*connected with each of said ejecting devices and arranged to beoperated by the impact of said bomb with its target.

11. In an airplane bomb, the combination with a structure adapted tocarry a plurality of missiles, of atwo-armed lever pivotally mountedadjacent to each of said missiles and having onearm arranged to ejectthe missile when said lever is moved about its axis, andan actuating rodarranged in operative relation with the other arm of said lever andadapted to be operated by the impact of said bomb with its target.

12. In an airplane bomb, a structure comprising a plurality ofsuperimposed compartments, an actuating rod extending lengthwise of saidstructure adjacent to said compartments, an ejecting device pivotallymounted adjacent to each compartment and having one arm arranged toengage the missile in said compartment, and having its other armarranged to be engaged by said actuating rod.

13. In an airplane bomb, a structure comprising a'hollow supportingmember, a plurality of partitions carried by said supporting member toform compartments arranged in superimposed tiers, an actuating rodmounted in said hollow supporting member and arranged to be operated bythe impact of said bomb with its target, an ejecting lever pivotallymounted in each compartment and having one arm arranged to engage amissile in said compartment, and having its other arm extending intosaid hollow supporting member and intoopera and arranged to be operatedby the impact of said bomb with its target, an ejecting lever pivotallymounted in each compart-, ment and having one arm arranged to form aseat for a missile, and having its other arm extending into operativerelation with said actuating rod.

ments, each adapted to receive an explosive missile having a firing pin,an ejecting lever .pivotally mounted in each of said compartments andhaving one arm arranged to engage the missile in said compartment and tobe connected with the firing pin of said missile, and having 1ts otherarm extending into said hollow supporting member, and an actuating rodmounted in said hollow supporting member in operative relation with thelast: mentioned-arm of said lever.

16. In an airplane bomb, a structure comprising a series of transverseand vertical partitions arranged to form compartments or missiles, saidcompartments being arranged in superimposed tiers, and the verticalpartitions of one tier of compartments being arrangedin planesdifi'ering from the planes of the vertical partitions of an adjacenttier of compartments, and means for ejecting the missiles from saidcompartments. I

17 .'-In an airplane bomb, the combination with astructure having aplurality of commissiles therein, and means. for causing said partments,each adapted to' receive a missile, of an e e'cting dev1ce arranged ineach compartment to eJect the missile therefrom, an

actuating device for said ejecting devices,

and resilient clips carried by the walls of the compartment to hold saidmissiles against displacement.

18.v The combination with a bomb comprising an elongated body structurehaving a plurality of compartments, each adapted to contain a missile,of an envelop adapted to surround sald bodyv structure to retain theenvelop to be separated -from said body structure.

, 19. In an airplane bomb, the combination sheet of resilient materialbent about said structure to retain the missiles in said com-.

partments, means for connecting the edges of said sheet one to theother, and means to automatically disconnect said edges of said sheet.

20. 'In an airplane bomb, the combination with a structure having aplurality of compartments, each adapted to receive a missile, ofaretaining cover comprising a. sheet of resilient material. bent aboutsaid structure to retain the missiles in said compartments, a lockingpin to connect the edges of said sheet of material one to the other, anda fan connected with said locking pin and adapted to be operated by theflight of said bomb through the air to withdraw said locking pin andrelease said retaining cover.

21. In an airplane bomb, the combination with a structure having aplurality of compartments adapted to contain missiles, of a retainingcover comprising a sheet of resilient material bent about said structuret alined notches, a locking pin screw-threaded on to said sheet near oneedge thereof, a socket carried by the other edge of sand sheet andadapted to receive said locking pin, and a fan connected with saidlocking pin and adapted to be actuated by the flight of said bombthrough the air to move said locking pin out of said socket.

In testimony whereof,.I aflix my signature hereto.

CHARLES C. BLAGKMORE.

